


In the Park

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-06-17
Updated: 2003-06-17
Packaged: 2019-05-15 12:58:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14790953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: A walk in the park





	In the Park

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

**In The Park**

**by:** Ygrawn

**Character(s):** Josh, Donna, Amy  
**Pairing(s):** Josh/Amy, Josh/Donna  
**Rating:** G  
**Spoilers:** Not a nary one, though it’s S4. And I’ve ignored the fact that there is no children’s playground in Lafayette Park. This story is kind of obsolete now, but I’m still putting it out there.  
**Author's Note:** For my favouritest almost-five-year-old, a champion bike-rider, future stage actress, brilliant conversationalist and Amazon princess - the indefatigable Miss O.  


They are surrounded by a traffic jam of bikes. 

Children are scooting around each other, shifting their path to avoid hitting each other and continuing on their way. Amy supposes it’s a merry way, because they all look manically, startlingly happy.

Some of the younger ones stick their tongues out as they ride, and tightly grip the handlebars of their bikes. They concentrate on their pedals, not the path ahead. They swoop and wobble and shriek and come dangerously close to falling off, but the older bike-riders move around them without complaint.

A few of them stare at her and Josh, some with curiosity, others with annoyance.

They came down to the park for lunch. Only, its four o’clock in the afternoon. Josh’s day rarely finishes before midnight, so mealtimes are entirely arbitrary and often an unexpected bonus. Amy was astounded that Josh had made that much time for her so she decided not to tell him that she’d already had lunch and wasn’t hungry.

Now they’ve eaten their sandwiches and drunk their coffees, and they’re walking through the children’s playground, back to the White House. 

There are children in the sand-pit fisting sand in chubby hands, children lurching on the seesaw, children on the slide and the flying fox, and other bright pieces of play equipment. There are children on the swings, imagining real flight. There are children climbing on statues and trees, crawling under branches and rolling in the grass. There’s even a rock-climbing wall, where children are dangling off ropes and attempting to make it over the top without falling. Not many manage it, but most dust themselves off and try again.

She and Josh are weaving amongst the children who are riding their bikes and tricycles and scooters along the wide, straight path.

Josh seems to be more aware of their presence and the potential for danger than Amy is - he scoots around them before they have to scoot around him. His willingness and flexibility are surprising - he jumps onto the grass and back onto the path and doesn’t seem to mind the inconvenience.

In fact, he’s grinning as if this is a game, and many of the children grin back and look back to watch him leap again.

Amy, however, is awkward. She keeps stopping and starting, and the children move around her with barely disguised impatience. She’s terrified that one of the children will ride into her, legs and bikes colliding, and that she’ll be hurt. 

She belatedly worries that one of the children will also be hurt.

Josh doesn’t seem to notice her discomfort. He’s now jumping - theatrically, it must be said, conscious of his delighted audience. A little girl claps when he performs a half-jump, half-twist back onto the path.

Amy ignores him and keeps an eye on her legs.

But they make it past the bike jam unscathed, although not unmarked, and Amy thinks that she’ll choose their path back home next time.

Only, Josh seems more at home in the White House than she does. He’s more comfortable and casual about it. She doesn’t think that’s a matter of time, but a matter of belief. A matter of certainty, and the people around you - a shared faith that Amy isn’t part of.

Josh is now striding down the path. His tie flaps and his hair bounces, and, as always, she’s astounded by his boundless energy. Amy loves that about him, and doesn’t know what to do when he retreats into himself and becomes still and silent. She can’t understand him, then. He eludes her, and she becomes frustrated.

There’s still an army of children running around them. There are a group of them playing a complicated game in the middle of the grass that Amy doesn’t understand. Well, she can understand its rules and boundaries, but not its purpose. She’s not sure why they’re playing it.

Josh suddenly calls out. "Hey!"

Amy looks up at the same time as Donna. 

Josh’s assistant is sitting on the park bench just ahead of them, one long leg crossed over the other. Her skirt is an eye-catching scarlet and her shirt is tailored and white. Her lipstick matches her skirt. She’s reading a book, but she marks her page and closes it as they approach.

"Hey," she calls back, standing up. In her black heels, she’s nearly a whole head taller than Amy. 

They reach her.

Josh says, "I know you’ve been eating lunch here for the past few weeks. I thought we’d collect you on the way back to the office."

Amy suddenly realizes why they’ve come back this way when they usually go up the broad main avenue of the park. She can’t muster the energy to be annoyed because she’s stopped being surprised at the lengths Josh will go to where Donna is concerned. 

"Hi Amy," Donna says.

Amy nods. "Hey Donna. This looks like a nice spot to eat lunch." She’s lying.

Donna shrugs. "I like it."

In that sentence, Donna is saying that she knows Amy couldn’t think of a worse place to eat lunch, but it’s actually a very likeable location, and there’s something special and superior about Donna that allows her to see that.

"Did you take a full hour for lunch?" Josh asks Donna in a stern voice.

"No," Donna replies breezily.

"Why not?"

Amy can see them gearing up for a fight, or their weird and exclusive version of a fight, the kind of fight that exhausts her because they speak a language she doesn’t understand. 

But something collides with her legs, and makes a loud hiccup of surprise. Amy echoes it. The something is soft and small, but bony. 

Josh and Donna stop talking.

Amy looks down, obliquely startled to find a little child sitting in on the path, face screwed up, crying loudly. She stares at the child and wonders what to do with it.

Donna immediately bends over and picks the child up, holding it close to her body with startling expertise.

"Are you okay, sweetheart?" She smoothes back the child’s blonde hair. Her thumb feathers the child’s neck, cupping its head in the palm of her hand.

The child - Amy isn’t sure if it’s a boy or a girl - gulps back a sob and stares at Donna with wide blue eyes.

Donna smiles reassuringly. "You’re okay, aren’t you?" she says in a low, confidential tone, as if it’s obvious that the child is okay. As if the two of them have just shared a great secret and are now best friends.

The child nods, then pulls its hand from its mouth and wipes it on its T-shirt. "Yes."

Amy can’t even tell how old the child is.

"You’re a very brave girl," Josh tells her, apparently having no trouble with the child’s gender. 

He brushes invisible dust off the girl’s shoulder. He straightens her bright blue T-shirt with pink flowers splashed across the front, and strokes her shoulder. His hands move down her narrow back, the brush becoming an almost-caress.

The child looks at Josh with wet, shiny eyes that widen when Josh screws his nose up and grins at her. She seems quite taken with him, her mouth pursing as she considers his wild hair and his huge, reassuring grin.

Amy hadn’t realized it, but Josh’s appearance would be very comforting to children. There’s something solid, and attractive, and still child-like about Josh - something about the way his features are so expressive and mobile - and the little girl seems happier for seeing him.

It seems odd that one of the most awesome and threatening political men in the country is so non-threatening and reassuring to children.

The child’s gaze shifts between Donna and Josh, who are standing with the girl’s body between them. She’s staring at them with curiosity, but she seems perfectly at home with them.

The child has settled so easily on Donna’s hip. Amy can’t understand that. She’s carried a few children across the years. Nieces and nephews and friends’ babies who were thrust upon her by other women who assumed that holding a baby would make Amy yearn for one of her own. But it was always awkward and uncomfortable to carry them that way, on her hip. It was awkward and uncomfortable to carry them at all, and Amy is always ashamed by the relief she feels when she hands a baby back over to its parents. 

But there seems to be an invisible perch on Donna’s hip, and the girl looks perfect there.

"What’s your name?" Donna asks. She doesn’t talk to the child like she’s a child. Amy doesn’t understand that, either.

"Emma," the girl replies after a moment’s hesitation.

"I’m Donna. This is Josh."

"How old are you, Emma?" Josh asks.

"Four," Emma pronounces, holding out three fingers. Josh and Donna smile at each other. "It was my birfday yest’day." 

"Happy Birthday," they both say loudly, joyously.

"Did you have a party?" Josh asks, as if this is the most important conversation he’s had today. Emma shakes her head. "Are you going to have a party on the weekend?" he guesses.

Emma smiles and nods. "With a clown. And balloons."

Donna and Josh are suitably impressed. 

Josh’s hand is now resting on Emma’s hip, so, consequently, his fingers are brushing against Donna’s ribs.

It is, Amy thinks objectively, quite a beautiful picture. Something to smile at. Emma has twisted her body so that she can talk to both of them, but in order to keep her balance, has hooked an arm around Josh’s neck and curled her fingers underneath his ear. The three heads are close together, and Josh and Donna are completely focused on the little girl. 

Donna’s wearing a suit, and Emma looks perfect on her hip.

"What did you get for your birthday?" Josh asks Emma.

The little girl catalogues a surprising amount of stuff. But she starts her list with books, and Donna asks her what her favourite book is.

" _The Cat in the Hat_ ," Emma tells them, with perfect enunciation. "My Daddy says the cat is very naughty."

"I always thought the cat was pretty cool," Josh tells Emma.

Donna rolls her eyes. "You would."

Josh makes another face, and Emma giggles.

"Why don’t we find your Mommy?" Donna asks.

But Emma’s mother appears at that moment, reaching out for Emma and thanking Josh and Donna. She doesn’t seem worried by the child’s absence, and she brushes the last of Emma’s tears from her cheeks quite absent-mindedly.

It must get like that, Amy realizes, looking at Emma’s mother. Having children becomes as much of your life as driving and eating and pushing legislation through the Hill.

"I’ve seen you eating lunch here for the past few weeks," the mother says to Donna. 

She hitches Emma up her hip, but even she doesn’t look as natural as Donna did.

Donna nods. "I like it here, with the children. It’s noisy and energetic. But simple at the same time."

The mother smiles. "Wait until you have children. Then it’s just tiring."

There’s an awkward pause, until Josh says, "I can see it now, Donnatella. You’ll have your children using cue cards before they turn four."

Donna flushes. "You’d have them campaigning before they turned six."

"It’s a little late for your lunch hour, isn’t it?" the mother continues. She smiles, and Amy can see the beautiful woman she once was.

Donna gestures in Josh’s direction. "Take that up with my boss."

The woman looks between them. "Oh. You’re…oh. Well, thank you."

Amy knows what the woman was going to say. She thought Josh and Donna were married. A lot of people assume that, and if they don’t say anything, Josh and Donna don’t bother to correct them. And why shouldn’t they make that assumption? Sometimes, it’s far easier to believe that Josh and Donna are a couple, rather than she and Josh.

"’Bye Emma," Donna says, smiling brightly.

"’Bye," Emma replies. 

She waves and grins and her tears are gone. She looks at Donna and Josh over her mother’s shoulder until they disappear into the crowd of mothers and children, and nannies, and even a few fathers. 

Other children continue to skirt around the three of them, and another child falls off the rock-climbing wall. He picks himself up and grabs the rope with steely determination. 

Donna collects her book and the remains of her lunch, and they begin walking towards the White House. Josh walks between her and Donna.

"What are you reading?" Amy suddenly asks. She doesn’t want to talk about the child, or hear Josh and Donna talk about her, and how gorgeous it was when she held up three fingers, but said she was four. She doesn’t want to pull that moment apart and see the look in Josh’s eye. 

" _Paradise_ ," Josh absently replies. "By Toni Morrison."

Amy frowns. "Not you. Donna."

"That is what I’m reading," Donna tells her. She turns to Josh. "You’ve got that meeting with McCarson at five."

Josh groans. "God. Can’t I just stay here and play with the children?"

Donna looks over her shoulder and smiles. "You could sit in the sandbox and teach them about the separation of powers."

"I would have been a good teacher, you know."

Amy snorts. "Hardly."

Josh looks at Donna. "I would have."

"You’d make an excellent absent-minded PolySci Professor, Josh."

Josh seems satisfied with Donna’s decree. 

They walk on in silence for a while, past a few college kids, and a couple lying on a blanket, reading the same book. They pass a few people in business suits, and a jogger in tight black shorts.

Josh looks back over his shoulder. "It is a nice spot to have lunch."

And something passes between Josh and Donna. 

Something is always passing between them, but this is something about the children, and the way Josh was happy to move out of their way, but Amy wasn’t, and the way Donna picked Emma up without hesitating and her hip seemed to be the perfect place for a four-year-old, and the way Josh touched Donna’s rib and Emma’s hip at the same time, and made them both smile.

"Mm," is all that Donna says.

Something passes through Amy, too. She really didn’t want to move for those children, and it made her impatient to have to walk amongst them. She didn’t think about how they would be hurt, but only about herself. She didn’t understand their game, and saw no purpose to it. She can’t understand how having children simply becomes as natural as breathing or walking.

And the way Donna carried that little girl made her feel alien. Old.

"I’m heading up to the Hill. For some meetings," Amy suddenly tells them, sharply, decisively. "I’m going to - I’ll go that way. It’s faster." She stops and points to the other path. "Thanks for lunch."

Josh gives her a brief kiss. "I’ll call you tonight."

"Okay."

Amy nods at Donna and Donna smiles at her and Amy can see her, in two years, five years, seven years, with a beautiful blonde-haired boy on her hip, holding the hand of a striking brown-haired girl, swaying as she walks, laughing about Daddy and Uncle Sam’s latest screw-up.

Josh and Donna continue on their path, up the hill towards the White House. Amy watches them go. Josh says something and Donna elbows him. Josh familiarly knocks her body with his shoulder and smiles.

Amy sees Donna look behind her, one more time. She thinks Donna is looking at her.

But she realizes that Donna is looking at the children. Both Josh and Donna have looked behind them, one more time, at the children, but Amy hasn’t. She isn’t going to.

She walks down her path. This path is not really faster; it’s just an alternate route. She’s not sure why she decided to leave Josh and Donna alone. 

Except that maybe, it’s because Amy’s hips are perfectly straight and do not sway.

And Emma looked so remarkably like Donna.


End file.
